Hidden Schemes
by SirenMist
Summary: When a troublesome teen lands herself amongst the members of the "new and improved" Organization XIII, she could never have forseen the amount of chaos she'd bring to the "happy little" unit. But after spouting off at the mouth, Juliet and co. are in over their heads in a mess they don't know how to fix. ::Rewritten Version of Hidden Schemes, way better than the first. Zexion/OC ::
1. Of Parties and Knock-Down Drag-Outs

**A long time ago, I wrote this fic. After reading it again, I nearly cringed at the poor grammar and word-usage, and my sister convinced me to rewrite it and post it here. My writing's greatly improved since I wrote this crude work roughly two or three years ago and posted it on Quizilla. I hope I can make this fiction a much more enjoyabe read!**

**Disclaimer: Only Square Enix can claim the rights to Kingdom Hearts. I don't profit by any means when writing this, and only use it for a source of pleasure-reading.**

* * *

**~Hidden Schemes: Chapter one~**

Juliet groaned as once again, Larxene moved the burning curling iron too close to her scalp. The smell of static swam in the air around the newest addition to the Organization, and she blandly wondered if she could drown out the scent in perfume.

"Quit complaining," Larxene snapped as she released the handle and another perfectly sculpted curl fell. "You're going to that dance, and I refuse to let you go with those unruly curls of yours. No, I'm going to perfect each and everyone one of them."

Juliet sighed and gazed into the mirror on Larxene's vanity. Her naturally unruly curly brown hair was now glossy and styled. Juliet's hair fell just below her shoulders, and a golden ribbon had been woven through a braid that went across the top of her head.

Why was she enduring this torture? For starters, no one, repeat, _no one_ denied the Savage Nymph when she was in a "mood." Second, the party that Kairi was throwing down on the beach of Destiny Islands presented the perfect opportunity for Juliet to go and make an appearance on behalf of the "new and improved" Organization XIII.

Were they still bad guys? They'd negate that adamantly.

Did Larxene still hold a grudge towards Sora? She'd snicker at the person who asked.

Did Juliet really want to go? Well, she was a social Scarlet Tango, but she didn't really care to go at the moment.

Larxene, deciding she was satisfied with the outcome of her victim — ahem — friend's hair, yanked the cord out of her sleek blonde antennae (which had been supplying all the electricity she needed) and set the curler aside.

"On to make-up!" she declared with a mischievous grin and a sadistic gleam in her eye.

"No, no, no!" Juliet howled. "I let you do my hair and I even let you pick out my dress —which I'm starting to regret— but there's no way I'm putting on make-up!"

Larxene glared daggers at the young teenager. "Oh, really? Then should I let the Superior know what you wrote about him in your diary?"

Oh, the anagram. That shut Juliet up immediately, seeing as how she valued her life, and not valuing her life would entail provoking Larxene and allowing her to show Xemnas what his name was if they switched the letters around a little.

Juliet supposed she'd play along. But come time for mission assignments, she was going to have a very, very convincing talk with Saїx about giving Larxene an extra hard, extra-long, extra boring as Yen Sid recon mission with Vexen.

Moments later, otherwise known as traipsing through hell with a make-up palette, Juliet was eyeing herself in the mirror curiously. She had on a sparkly copper dress with a tight bodice and a skirt that puffed out and stopped just above her knees. Strappy sandals with a rather high gold and wood heel, gold bangles, and a wooden bead necklace completed the ensemble and added a touch of sassiness. A light copper eye shadow coated her eyelids right above her chocolate-colored eyes, which were outlined in a shade of dark-brown kohl, and a heavy coat of black mascara made her long lashes bold. Her eye make-up was thick, but Larxene had pulled it off, causing the gold flecks in Juliet's eyes to look brighter and her dark-chocolate-colored hair to look luminous.

With a slight smile, which she hid well to avoid an, 'I told you so,' from Larxene, Juliet applied a light sheen of peach-colored lip gloss to her lips.

Smirking maliciously, Larxene sneered, "Maybe it's Kairi's party, but you'll upstage her for sure!" Rolling her eyes, the brunette wondered if the blonde had made her up out of the goodness of her heart, or just to throw it back in the keybearer's face.

The latter, she supposed with a sigh.

A smirky, devilish redhead entered the room, leaning casually against the wall as he grinned his cheshire grin. Larxene perked up at his arrival and sidled up to him. Juliet took this as her cue to get the heck out of there.

Axel called from the room, "You look nice, Jule, have a good time!"

Juliet laughed and proceeded to head to her own room. On her way through Naught's Skyway, Saїx caught up to her, his gold eyes as dull as his usual personality.

"Hello, number XIV."

"Hey, Saїx!" Juliet greeted excitedly as she turned to the blue-haired second in command, who eyed her cautiously.

"Do you have your cell phone?" _Oh, here we go again._

She rolled her eyes, knowing he was starting up with his fatherly act again. This happened every time she went out. She and Saїx were close; he was like a big brother to her.

"Yes," she said, bored. Just to prove her point, she began to inspect her nails.

"Is it charged?" he asked. _Oh, for the love of Darkness!_

"Yes," she answered simply.

With narrowed eyes, the Luna Diviner declared, "Now, should anything happen—"

"I know: Do not hesitate to call. I won't get in trouble as long as I keep safe and contact someone in a state of emergency. I've got your 'hokey' speech memorized, Sai. Take a deep breath, and walk away."

After throwing the brunette a rather gloomy look, Saïx responded, "Then be on your way, and do have a good time." He flashed her one of his rare smiles that she could have sworn up and down that no one aside from herself had ever seen in their lives. Well, excluding Axel, given their past.

"Alright, Saïx, and don't have too much fun without me!" Juliet threw her arms around the stalwart man, hugging the very life out of him before pulling back and suppressing a giggle at the redness coloring his cheeks. He shook his head, blue locks moving slightly with the movement.

* * *

A gasp escaped the lips of the fifteen-year-old Organization member as she stepped out a clammy Dark Corridor and onto the warm sands of the tropical paradise that Sora, Kairi, and Riku spent the majority of their time at. Paper lanterns hung from the thatch roofs of the scattered hut-like edifices, and more lights hung from the emerald foliage that loomed above.

With a grin, Juliet closed her portal and fluffed her hair as she spotted Seifer standing not far from her. She watched his face blanch when he caught her Larxene-like smirk. The "macho," tough guy turned and looked away, pretending like he'd never seen her in the first place.

At fourteen, Juliet had been kicked out of her second school in the last two years when she decked Seifer for… She couldn't recall the reason now, and she didn't think it'd even been that good of one, but she knew she'd enjoyed watching his nose gush blood. And then she socked Roxas in the jaw just for the heck of it.

That was when she met Xemnas. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Boring had marched himself up to the high school and thrown the door to the principle's office open, only to be confronted by the very deceiving picture of a young girl with doe-eyes and bouncy brown curls.

He recruited her, though Darkness knew why. Perhaps it was the thought that a girl like her had landed a hit on a guy like Roxas. That, and she had nowhere else to go, seeing as how she'd just gotten expelled and was turned back to visit the train station to return to Traverse Town.

Traverse Town was a pretty elaborate lie for Juliet, being as young as she was. Faking papers and her parents' signatures came naturally to the runaway, as did photoshopping herself into pictures of a couple she'd most likely illegally stolen from the internet. With a couple bats of her eyelashes, she'd explain, "Daddy is off in another world fighting off the never-ending war with the Darkness, and Mommy is a maid of Queen Minnie's, far too busy to be expected to deal with such idle things like attending school functions."

But Xemnas saw through it, tore up her train ticket, and dragged her back to the World That Never Was. For the next year, she trained in the art of hand-to-hand combat, for she'd never acquired an actual weapon or "element" such as chakrams and fire. And that was how she came to be the newest member and (she finally found the reason Xemnas bothered with her) the face of the Organization XIII, doe-eyes, bouncy brown curls, dimples, and all.

So, she attended functions such as these, her smile stretched across her face like an elastic rubber band. Darkness, it hurt to stand there and shake hands with everyone, throwing the occasional, 'Xemnas just contributed a million munny to the local baby turtles foundation,' into the mix. But, she did it, and she'd come to love the XIII members like family.

A pair of hands shielded the world from view, and Juliet momentarily felt the urge to grab the person blinding her and sling him over her shoulder. Then, said moron cried giddily, "Guess who!?" and she banished the previous thoughts from her head. She figured it'd be considered rude to fling the hostess into the sand.

"Kairi?" Juliet guessed with fake enthusiasm and a giggle. Sure, she liked the girl, but her abundance of joy grated on her nerves, especially at functions such as these.

The hands removed themselves to Juliet's delight, and Kairi stepped in front of her. Her dress was short, hot-pink, and quickly disappearing into an profusion of sparkles. Very typical of her friend.

Sora stood beside her, his smile not quite as grand as his girlfriend's, but just as sincere. He nervously tugged at a pink tie hung from his neck, and Juliet quickly wondered if Kairi had forced him into wearing it to make their outfits match. The thought brought another smirk to her face.

"Hey, Juliet," Sora greeted while wrapping his arm around Kairi. "Riku's looking for you. He's in the den."

Juliet nodded and replied, "Thanks, Sora!" She waved at the couple before rushing away, her cheeks blazing all the while. It was no secret that she and Riku had a thing for each other, but so far, neither had acted on any impulses. All of their friends teased them relentlessly, but it did nothing to brush away the anxiety and fear of rejection.

What attracted Juliet to the silver-haired keybearer? She loved bad boys. Riku had that look about him, that certain aura and smooth talk that rendered her mind useless and made her mouth smile uncontrollably. It was almost pathetic the way she melted around him, but she couldn't help being a total puddle of goo when he swung his Keyblade around and tore through heartless like it was nothing.

When Juliet moved aside the thatch barrier that served as the door to a side structure, blinding lights and pounding music immediately met her. As if he'd sensed her, Riku's aquamarine eyes met her brown one's almost instantaneously.

With a wave, Juliet mouthed, "Hey, Riku!"

He nodded, sliding off a couch and jogging over to where she stood by the exit. He wrapped his hand around her arm and pulled her outside where the noise wouldn't drown out their words. Juliet blushed a little and glanced at the sunset, admiring the way the red, orange, and gold seemed to flow into the sea.

"Hey, Juliet," Riku finally spoke, his voice breaking the silence. His eyes danced over her body, taking in her dress and heels. He rubbed the back of his neck and offered, "You look really nice."

Tucking her head in a little, Juliet answered, "Thanks… So do you."

The two fell into a slightly awkward silence, in which Juliet fought down the reddening of her cheeks. She almost cried in relief when Riku motioned to the pavilion where the band was playing a slow song and asked, "Do you want to dance?"

"Love to," came her response as she took his outstretched hand and allowed him to lead her to the bridge that crossed from the shore to the cylindrical piece of island on the southeast side. When they made it to the center, Riku pulled Juliet into his arms, letting her arms link around his neck as they swayed slightly to the music, their hearts mimicking the beat.

* * *

Zexion nodded at Namine as she offered him a glass of punch. They stood with Roxas over by the start of the bridge across from Riku and Juliet. Blue eyes watched the ex-Nobody with curiosity as he gazed at the couple dancing.

With a knowing smile, Namine whispered, "Zexion, if you like her, you should go and get her before she's taken." She punctuated this remark by nudging the quiet boy with her shoulder.

Roxas scoffed, "Nami, it looks like she's kinda already taken."

Zexion took a sip of his punch in response, his blue-ish eyes still trained on his comrade and the silver-haired teen. He continued to drink from the cup, not joining in conversation, for he never cared to converse as it was. In fact, he only attended these dreaded events because (and Juliet would slaughter him if ever she found out) Saïx requested it of him. He felt she needed some form of supervision, and having any other member there would be strange since none aside from Demyx, Axel, or Larxene would be young enough to attend without it warranting suspicion or being absolutely useless — the former member due to his inability to supervise anything, the middle because Juliet would know that something was up, and the latter because she simply would not serve well as a representative for the "new and improved" Organization XIII. And that was putting it lightly.

At the moment that the silver-purple-and-bluish-mess-of-haired ex-Nobody had turned to leave the conversation, his ever observant eyes caught sight of a curious scene. Where Juliet had previously been dancing with Riku, a blonde girl stood in a particularly trashy black dress, her hand on the male's chest and her red lips against his neck.

With a raised eyebrow, Zexion made his way over to Juliet, watching as said girl scrunched her nose up in fury and shoved a finger into Riku's chest, her mouth moving a mile a minute in what the Schemer was sure were words that would have Saïx on the ground, his legs in the air like a downed opossum.

When Riku wrapped his arm around the new girl and spat something at Juliet, Zexion new all bets were off. She was a volcano, and she was three seconds from erupting emotional lava all over Riku's nice little sports jacket and the blonde's barely-there dress. He broke out into a run.

_Not good for the Organization, repeat, not good for the Organization!_ Zexion chanted in his brain, racing toward Juliet right as she went to throw a punch.

He latched onto her arm, receiving a very indignant, "Hey, let the freak go of me!"

"Nuh-uh," he answered, dragging her away from where Riku had shoved his tongue so far down the blonde's throat that Zexion shuddered and wondered if he would lose the muscle in there.

"What are you doing!?" Juliet screeched, her brown eyes glowing in the sun. Zexion took the inopportune moment to admire her features before shaking his head to focus on the task at hand.

"I am merely preventing you from doing something the Superior would frown upon." His answer brought a sense of pride to his face, as he had expected to lose any cognizance upon gazing into her eyes.

"Oh, what," Juliet scathed sarcastically, "defending my honor?"

With a well hidden eye roll, Zexion responded, "He could not have damaged your honor that bad, could he?" He doubted Riku would still have certain — ahem — pieces still intact if that were the case.

Oddly, the brunette's face fell a little and she lost all of her previous swagger. She fiddled with her fingers before replying with as much disinclination as possible, "Zexion, I really liked him… I thought, you know, that he liked me, too… But then, this chick walks up, and it's like he's under some spell or something. He just pushed me aside and started making out with her, and that's not like him! At least, I thought it wasn't…" She barked a dry laugh and then added, "I guess it is though. He humiliated me in front of everyone."

A frown crossed Zexion's face, and he crossed his arms. No, he did not appreciate Riku treating Juliet in such a manner, nor did he appreciate his over-bearing laughter as the two continued to taunt the brunette from their spot on the pavilion.

Juliet sobered up, flicking a curl over her shoulder and stating, "Well, I guess appearances are useless now. I'm going to head back." She'd recovered quickly from the incident, as Zexion knew she would. It made him smile a little at how she rolled her shoulders back and half-smirked as she strutted past him.

When she'd sashayed by Riku and his new toy without a backwards glance, the blonde watched her with a sneer and then yanked out of the keybearer's arms. She called out to Juliet, her voice rather melodic in nature though it carried a distasteful undertone.

The brunette turned to look at her, a bored expression on her face. Before Zexion could even decipher what was occurring, the girl had shoved Juliet backwards, sending her straight into the refreshments table and sending an assortment of cake, fruit, and punch all over her.

"Oops," chimed the blonde, her hip cocked. "My mistake! I guess you're so ugly that I couldn't see you when you were standing right in front of me. No wonder Riku dropped you like an old sock."

Zexion's blood ran cold, and his lips pulled back in a bullydog-like scowl. Riku was cackling like a hyena, watching as Juliet stood and smoothed her hands over her spoiled dress, sending chunks of food to the ground. The Cloaked Schemer could detect just the slightest tremble of her lip as she gathered whatever modicum of dignity that remained and disappeared into a Dark Corridor.

In seconds, Namine and Roxas had joined Zexion's side, the former shouting at Riku in fury and the latter snarling. Zexion was deaf to anything but his own rage, however, and he shoved the sleeves of his black dress shirt up.

Thundering up to the laughing teen, Zexion fisted his hands and shouted, "You will not treat a lady that way, Riku!"

The heated lip lock between Riku and the blonde immediately ceased as the Cloaked Schemer yanked the keybearer towards him and sent his fist into his nose. There was a rather satisfying crunch before the silver-haired teen collapsed onto the ground, cupping his bleeding nose and hissing. Using his elbows to push off the ground, Riku glared at Zexion, and the ex-Nobody was pleased to find a dark bruise appearing around Riku's eyes.

With a very cold tone, Zexion spat, "You played Juliet and then laughed in her face. I hope that broken nose serves as a reminder should you opt to mess with another girl."

Growling, Riku jumped up from the ground, shouting, "You wanna fight? Let's fight!" He flew at Zexion, slamming him into a tree and knocking the air from his lungs. Not wanting to resort to dirty fighting, Zexion declined using his illusions and chose to slam his elbow into the hollow of the keybearer's throat. He took a few steps back, rubbing at the red spot and gasping for air while Zexion pushed off of the tree and responded with a powerful counterattack to his sternum.

Both boys crashed to the ground, Zexion on top as he sent a barrage of punches into Riku before the teen regained his bearings and surged forward, slamming Zexion's head into the ground.

The fight continued in a spray of attacks and blood, catching the attention of almost everyone. Sora had come running up, a very peeved look on his face as Namine pulled him aside and pointed to the brawlers.

Growing weary of the battle, Zexion pulled his knee up and slammed it into Riku's groin. It wasn't the best of finishing moves, and it was a rather dirty trick, but he was too tired and too angry to care about anything other than avenging Juliet. Stumbling to his feet, Zexion smirked as Sora high-fived him.

With a regretful half-smile, Zexion gasped, "I've got to go now… The party was… _interesting_, to say the least." And with that, he summoned a portal and vanished into the depths of purple and black.

* * *

**Thank you to all of those who first read this, and to those who are new! I appreciate the patience, and would very much appreciate any reviews! :D **

**This is shorter than the original chapter one, but I do not encourage going and reading the already posted fic. Just wait until I post every rewritten chapter, lest you subject yourself to a pretty awful story. **

**Should I wait to post this as a complete fic, or update little by little? **

***Sorry that Riku is slightly OOC, you will discover just what's going on later ;) It's a part of the plot!**


	2. How To Run One's Mouth - And Enjoy It

**Thank you to MagicRose13, my only reviewer and favorite *hint, hint to the rest of you out there*!**

**Disclaimer: I do not profit from 'Can't Fight the Moonlight,' Coyote Ugly, Kingdom Hearts, or any other mentions I might have thrown in.**

* * *

With whatever remained of his drained energy, the Cloaked Schemer portaled into the Grey Area and collapsed onto a couch, the swirling void still misting and spluttering, for he lacked the care to even close it. Zexion's eyes closed of their own volition, though he wasn't going to fight it at the moment.

"Darkness below! Zexion, what happened?"

Cracking one eye open, the illusionist sighed as Juliet began to fuss over him, wiping at the drying blood that ran from his split lip down his chin. He gathered that he must've been a sight for sore eyes, but at the moment, he really didn't worry.

"Riku… and I… had a bit of… a run in… you could say," Zexion finally managed, his words slightly slurred around the swelling of his lower lip. After wiping some of the crimson liquid out of his eyes, he used his elbow to prop himself up and was displeased to find that Juliet was still wearing her very ruined dress. He frowned as she ripped a piece of the end off and placed the scrap of fabric over his brow.

"What were you doing!?" Juliet scolded, her eyes shining in anger. He went to remove the pseudo-bandage, but the brunette slapped his hand away. Her fingers dug into his forehead as she went on cleaning, most likely in retribution for his getting himself injured.

With more venom than he intended, the schemer snapped, "What do you _think_ I was doing, Juliet?"

She shook her head, eyes closed in what Zexion chocked up to mounting frustration. "I honestly have no idea!"

He raised up on his elbows to look her in the eyes again. It somewhat irked him that he had to spell it out for her. "I beat up Riku."

"Yeah, I got that, but why did you—"

"I beat up Riku." She continued to frown at him in confusion, her fine eyebrows knitted in concern.

It was at that moment that Saїx made himself, Axel, and Larxene known by stating, "Well, he certainly got what he had coming." Zexion watched the trio enter from the hall, all of them wearing similar smirks as they took in his and Juliet's appearance.

Larxene nodded in approval of the diviner's statement, then finally asked the question that the schemer knew they all wanted answered. "Why did you do it?"

Zexion looked away, closing his eyes and fighting the need to pinch the bridge of his nose. If they honestly kept this going until he confessed, he was sure he'd turn the same shade as Axel's hair. "Juliet is my friend, what other reason do I need?"

Larxene grumbled, "Oh really? That's all, huh?" The look in her eyes said she knew more.

Turning his head to Axel with a very obvious cry for help in his blue eyes, Zexion fidgeted a little in his seat. The redhead simply smirked, a slight shake of his head signaling that he would not interfere with this one.

"Come on, guys. Let's go get some potions and rags to clean Zexion up," Juliet advised. The illusionist could tell that the brunette was tired of the chit-chat, wanted to punch someone after everything she'd endured, and just plain fed up. Frankly, he was relieved.

The group got the message and left Juliet to face Zexion. The Cloaked Schemer braced himself for what was sure to be the talking-to of the century.

"Zexion, you shouldn't have done that! You could've gotten hurt! Or- or killed, seeing as to you've already accomplished the first one!" Juliet seethed. Her eyes were ablaze with a fire that could rival the Flurry of the Dancing Flames himself.

A sigh escaped his lips as he ran a hand through his hair. "I did it because I care for you." At this, he turned back to her and gave her the most deadpan, don't-you-see-what-I-see face he could muster.

At first Juliet didn't get it, as she had a tendency to overlook the obvious and complicate things further. "I understand that you care for me but that doesn't—"

"No," Zexion interrupted, "When I say that I care for you, Juliet, *inquam is mitis."

When the girl stared back at him, blinking, the Cloaked Schemer let out a deep breath and explained, "It's Latin, Juliet." She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout, something he was sure she wasn't aware she even did when she wanted something, but Darkness did it make his heart beat faster!

Expectedly, he gave in.

Zexion leaned forward and caught her lips with his own, a small smile forming at the look of shock that crossed her cake-smudged face. She tasted slightly of strawberry punch and coconut milk, but the schemer didn't mind. When he finally pulled away to breath, Zexion whispered, "Inquam is mitis, Juliet. It means that saying I 'care' for you is an understatement."

Juliet smiled, her fingertip pressing to her mouth. Once she'd recovered from the moment, she pressed another kiss to the schemer's lips and breathed, "I think I can live with that."

Zexion found a grin forming on his face, and in the heat of the moment, threw caution to the wind. Deviously, he asked with a smirk, "You want to crash a party?"

"Huh?"

Zexion grabbed the girl's wrist and tugged her up, summoning a Dark Corridor and then pushing her in. Seconds after, the schemer was pulling his comrade out of the darkness and back into the crowd of party-goers on the white sand beach. Namine spotted him immediately, grinning at the way his fingers intertwined with Juliet's.

In the midst of couples dancing to the music, a boy covered in blood, mud, and bruises wrapped his arms around the waist of a girl whose dress was splattered in cake and punch. The kids around them looked on in confusion, but Namine, Roxas, Kairi, and Sora just smiled.

The two rugged teenagers looked ever out of place amid the dolled-up dancers, but they complemented each other's filthy outfits and mussed hair as they danced on the sunset-bathed sand of Destiny Islands.

* * *

Laughter filled the air as Juliet walked into Nothing's Call with Zexion's arm around her waist.

"And did you see the looks on their faces? Priceless!"

Zexion smiled softly as Juliet recounted the tale to Larxene and Axel, her excitement a contagion that floated in the air and infected everyone who gathered around her to hear the story.

From across the room Saix smiled. "And to think we had just been heading down to do exactly what Zexion already had."

Zexion just blinked. "How do you mean?"

Larxene's sadistic grin appeared on her face as she pulled out a kunai and stroked its edge. "Didn't you wonder why we all happened to be walking into the Grey Area in a group?"

Zexion looked curiously at her. No, he couldn't say the thought had really crossed his mind, but he allowed them to carry on anyhow. "Continue."

Axel jumped in, picking up where the story left off. "When Juliet got here, Saїx was worried sick! He made her tell us what happened—"

"About me being publicly humiliated," Juliet piped in.

"And of course, we were furious!" Axel finished.

"Yes, quite," added Saix. "In fact, when you walked in, we were heading down to Kairi's party to give that Riku a stern talking to."

"That's what you think," said Larxene. "I was gonna 'talk' with my kunai!" She let out a malicious cackle, and Axel shook his head at her antics. Saix smirked.

"But, since you stole our thunder and socked it to Riku for us," Axel went on, nodding at Zexion, "we had no need to go down there."

Zexion looked inquisitively at them. "Oh," was all he ended up saying.

Juliet sighed. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to my room to change. I smell like pineapple and mango punch mixed with strawberry icing."

Larxene made a retching sound. "Yeah, see you!"

Before she walked away, Juliet paused beside Zexion and bid him goodnight with a knowing smile. He nodded at her and repeated the endearment, watching as she portaled away. When the Dark Corridor closed, an eerie silence fell over the remaining group. A silence Larxene could all but let continue, much to the Cloaked Schemer's chagrin.

"So Zexy, I noticed your 'subtle' glance at Juliet. What _really_ happened, my little silvery-haired friend?" Larxene finally asked. Axel jabbed her in the ribs, but she only let out a giddy, evil laugh.

"Oh, um, nothing," Zexion stuttered. He abruptly stood and opened a dark portal. "Well, I'm just going to turn in." He vanished quicker than lightning.

"Larxene!" Axel chided. "Leave those poor kids alone!" He reached over and pulled one of her antennae-like bangs, and she slapped his hand away, scrunching up her nose.

"Unlikely." And with that, she too vanished into a swirling purple mist.

Saїx sat down next to Axel on the couch, his face blank but his eyes holding a humorous light. "Lea, you should train your girlfriend not to pry."

Axel smirked. "Unlikely," he said, mimicking Larxene.

* * *

As Juliet stepped out of her steaming hot shower and pulled on her black nightgown, she heard a quiet shuffling in her room.

It could be only one person.

She called with all of the nastiness she could muster, "Larxene, get out of my room! I'll tell you what I want to tell you, when I want to tell you!"

A huff carried through the door. "Is that anyway to treat a— Hey! You can't machine wash that dress! It's dry clean only, moron!"

Juliet stepped out, rolling her eyes at the lightning mistress as she wrapped a towel around her hair and wiped away some steam from her vanity mirror.

"Please, get out. I'm tired and I've had a long day." The look in her eyes must have been enough to convince the nymph to give up.

Larxene sighed haughtily, crossing her arms in defiance. "Fine, but I'm taking that dress and washing it the _proper_ way."

Juliet smiled sickeningly-sweetly. "Take your time."

Larxene snatched up the garment and spun on her heel, calling back, "Don't choke on your attitude."

When Larxene stepped into the hall, Axel was leaning against a pillar with a very disappointed look on his face. As the blonde pursed her lips and strutted past him, he tsked and pulled her back to his body.

"I thought I told you to leave those two alone," he scolded.

Larxene stuck her lip out in a pout. "Ah, are you mad at me?" She did her best to look up from under her eyelashes at him. She widened her eyes and made her lip tremble. It didn't take a Vexen to know that Axel was having trouble reprimanding Larxene with her kicked-puppy act.

"Yes...Uh, no! I'm not mad at you!" Axel sighed as he wrapped his arms around her and drew her close.

Larxene's sad act dissipated, and a mischievous grin broke out. "Good, cause if you were mad at me, I'd have to break up with you and date your ex-best friend."

Axel hissed. "You would never!"

"Wanna bet? Where is ol' werewolf boy anyways?"

"Who cares?" he answered, a hint of jealousy coloring his voice as he dragged her off to Twilight Town for dinner.

Just as the couple disappeared, Saїx and Marluxia rounded the corner, the former wearing a very blank expression and the latter cackling at the blonde's nickname for him.

"Did Larxene just call me werewolf boy?" Saїx asked, confused.

With a smirk, Marluxia replied, "Can't fight the moonlight, Berserker Boy."

* * *

Although it was morning, the perpetual twilight in all its glory shone down through the huge windows of the Grey Area. Saїx stood in the front of the room, his usual station on mornings like these when the Superior handed him the mission assignments for the members.

Xigbar came gallivanting into the Grey Area, arrowguns in tow. When Saїx spotted the cocky sharpshooter, his neutral expression morphed into an out-right grimace.

"Hello, number II," Saїx greeted dully. "I see you're looking even more hideous than usual on this fine morning. Put away the Halloween Costume, that's not for another two months."

"You're just sour because I'm number II, and you're number VII, even though you're second in command!" Xigbar replied with cocky smirk. He placed an arrowgun barrel up against his shoulder, the other hand on his hip.

Saїx answered not. "Mission in Halloween Town, eliminate the Carrier Ghost—"

"Piece o' cake!" Xigbar cried with an arrogant grin. He began to turn away before the diviner interrupted him.

"And the seven windstorms," Saїx finished with a satisfied smile. Xigbar's smirk fell into a little 'o' of horror.

"Morning chaps!" Luxord greeted cheerfully, ever the gentleman. "Have fun on your mission Xigbar, since it'll be a 'piece of cake!'" Luxord laughed at Xigbar's expense, and Saїx merely turned one corner of his mouth up by a fraction of a degree. The older man huffed and slumped over to fill up on hi-potions from the moogle.

The moogle greeted him with the usual, "Hello kupo, take a look at my wares, kupo."

As Xigbar reached in his pocket for munny, a soft knock echoed down the hall. He looked up at numbers seven and ten, who looked equally baffled. They rarely got visitors at the World that Never Was, and especially not at this time of the morning.

Xigbar shrugged and waltzed down the hall to the door. He opened it slightly, revealing it to be non-other than Kairi.

"What's the password?" he asked with a snigger. He gazed down at the redhead with a very sarcastic grin, one that had Kairi scowling.

"Let me in or I'll have Sora chop of your—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey, Barbie, no need to get testy," Xigbar said with a nervous chuckle as he pushed the door open further for the girl to come in.

"'Testy' is right, and I'm not talking about the adjective," Kairi replied sardonically. To Saїx's amusement, the sharpshooter portaled away faster than what could be considered usual.

At that moment, Juliet had just arrived via a Dark Corridor to head off for her "tutoring" session with Vexen, which usually entailed the elder scribbling on a chalkboard and doing the worm with his eyebrows, while the brunette scribbled 'How Babies Are Made' atop her worksheet and proceeded to fill it in with various forms of explicit content that she'd discovered on something called the "FanFiction." It was a rather informative site.

"Hey!" Juliet exclaimed, spotting her friend sitting on a couch in the Grey Area. Up until the brunette had spoken, Kairi had a sour look on her face. "What are you doing here?"

Kairi replied in expressive relief, "Nami and I are going shopping, and we wanted to know if you could come with us."

At this, Juliet jumped and spun around to face the Luna Diviner, her lip stuck out and her eyes large as she clasped her hands together and cried, "Please! Come on, Saїx, I don't learn anything in Vexen's lessons, anyways, except maybe that his face invented a new shade of red the last time I turned in my classwork assignment."

Slowly, Saїx's expression changed from pondering to regret, to many other things, as if fighting some inner battle about the right thing to do. He watched her with narrowed golden eyes, and she threw her hands on her hips and shot him a dirty glare.

"I thought we were friends," she spat, scowling. She knew it was below the belt to pull the "unfriend you" card, especially since his relationship with Axel had been on the rocks since 358, but she really couldn't care less at the moment. She got kicked out of two schools for a reason, and it wasn't because of the cafeteria food.

Although that did play a deciding factor.

Finally, Saїx sighed. "Alright, Juliet. Run along and I will tell Vexen that you are attending the school in another world or something. Perhaps, Namine took you to show and tell?"

Juliet threw her arms around Saїx and exclaimed, "Thank you Saїx-puppy!"

His eye twitched. "Why does everyone call me that?"

Marluxia spoke up from his spot before the moogle and answered, "Can't fight the moonlight, Berserker Boy."

* * *

As Juliet pulled on her pale olive-green sundress and walked out of the dressing room door, Kairi waved a gold credit card in her face, smirking.

"Remember, if you find something you want, buy it. My boyfriend's paying, which really means King Mickey's paying cause he covers Sora expenses. And you_ know_ how rich that mouse is!"

Kairi and Namine cracked up, but Juliet just looked pitifully at the card.

_That poor mouse,_ she thought, _what did he ever do to deserve this? _But then she looked back at the pile of Final Fantasy video games she'd acquired at the entertainment store, and her pity vanished into a sensation of overwhelming delight.

_Whatever you did, Mickey,_ thought Juliet with a smirk, _thank you so very, very much!_

As the girls exited the little boutique in Traverse Town, Namine brought up that she and Roxas had an ice cream date with Axel and Larxene on the clock tower. The girls elected to walk with Namine to the gate of Traverse Town, and the brunette switched the rather heavy shopping bags from one hand to the other, still grinning at not paying the hefty price of a few hundred-thousand munny, but frowning at the thought of having to walk much further.

When they neared the meeting spot at the front of the town and the two girls began to bid their blonde friend goodbye, everybody-look-at-me-please laughter filled the air. What could they do but look to the source?

Juliet growled.

It was her! She was draped over Riku again, and they were showing sickening amounts of PDA. Juliet's nails bit into her palm as she clenched her fist. Now, Juliet didn't care that Riku was still with the chick, because she and Zexion had obviously shared something the night before (though neither had discussed what they shared or what it meant, and they wouldn't if Juliet could avoid the schemer), but she still felt the need to avenge her honor.

She appreciated Zexion's effort, but she was a big girl, and she could throw a damn good punch if angered enough.

And oh, was she angry.

Suddenly, the girl looked up, meeting Juliet's chocolate-colored eyes with her own piercing, purple-sapphire ones. She pushed off of Riku, skipping up to the three girls as Kairi and Namine groaned a little. Juliet just sighed and found an interesting sign to read to avoid listening to this airhead rot her brain cells.

Ignoring Juliet completely, much to her relief, the girl grinned at Kairi and gushed, "Hey, Kai! Did you hear? My parents just bought the sickest pad in all the worlds! Ya, it's in Atlantica! You should've heard Ariel! She was all, 'Omg! My castle's supposed to be the biggest!' Ya, my parents opened up their country clubs in every world, and they have night clubs that only teenagers can get in to if they're my friends! It's like, so cool!"

Just the way she talked had the brunette cringing. _Hello, Darkness to Blondie, nobody talks that way anymore._

Kairi gasped, "Ohmigosh! No way! You have to take me!" In seconds, Kairi had latched onto the platinum blonde's arm and began chatting animatedly as they walked away towards a shop, Riku in tow. Juliet stood shell-shocked, wondering what the heck her friend was doing. They had plans to go see the new heartless breed in Agrabah!

_Lousy-Friend-O-Meter going off the freaking charts! _Juliet crossed her arms and slit her eyes at the duo as they disappeared into a candy store.

She was about to say something crass, but Riku walked up to her then. "Isn't Cecilia great?"

_Cecilia? Her name's Cecilia? It sounds slithery, like a snake. Saaa-siiiiii-lllll-yyyyaaaa_!

The blonde-haired, purple-eyed demon stuck her head out of the shop and called, "Riku-kun, are you coming?" She closed the door behind her as she then returned to her boyfriend's side, finally looking Juliet up and down with a look on her face as though she'd tasted something rancid.

"Oh, it's you," she stated dumbly. Turning to Riku, she chimed, "Come on, Ku, my parents just bought me a new gummiship, and Kairi and I were talking about going to Agrabah to see that new breed of heartless that's just been discovered!"

_Oh, that fruh-eaking does it. I mean, for real? Kairi doesn't stand a chance fighting the heartless, she _needs_ me! She-she doesn't even _like_ to fight! But oh, now she's great big friends with bimbo over here and they're going to go take down the heartless with _Riku_?_

_N-O spells no._

With no forethought on the subject, Juliet scoffed, "Oh, you think you're miss priss because your parents own a castle in Atlantica!? Ha! I don't even _live_ with my parents. I live on my own with some friends, and we own our own world. Plus, our castle is bigger than King Mickey's and the Beast's combined!"

Her words caught up to her then, and Juliet slowly began to retreat into herself like one of the baby turtles on Xemnas' donations list. "Oops…"

_Stupid move, stupid move!_

"Oh, really?" Cecilia hissed. "You strike me as the kind of girl who lives in a cardboard box."

_Well, _Juliet thought, steaming, _I've already screwed up, so it can't get much worse. Might as well play the hand I was dealt!_

"That's fine. Believe what you will. It doesn't change the fact that everything I said was true, and we throw parties that I won't even invite Kairi to, per request of my maid and butler — they think she's shallow. Oh, and for the record, my head of the household didn't buy me a souped-up gummiship, he bought me what I like to refer to as the 'dragon-mobile.'" As an afterthought, Juliet responded, "Oh, and I can portal."

_There, teach that no good, boy-seducing, friend-stealing, eyelash-batting twit to mess with me!_

Cecilia shrugged, as if the whole story sounded as false as her own laughter. "Then I expect you to prove it. I'll give you a little while to plan this 'big party' of yours, and then I'll expect to see it for myself. A-buh-bye!" And with that she and her group walked away, leaving Juliet to wonder just what the hell she'd gotten herself into.

Then, after a little reflecting, a huge grin broke out on the brunette's face. "I'm going to throw a party she'll _never_ forget."

* * *

***I don't speak Latin. Like, whatsoever, so I apologize if I completely butchered that language DX **

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed, and please, please, PLEASE review and at least tell me what you did or didn't like. If you have the urge to hit the backspace button or stop reading here, can you at least let me know why? I want to improve...**


	3. You Put the Suc In Successful

**SUPER sorry for the long wait! I appreciate those who have read this :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not profit from the Kingdom Hearts or Disney franchise. I'm in no way affiliated with Square Enix or any of the other owners. I do this purely for entertainment purposes. Don't sue me.**

* * *

"Kairi is freaking TRIVIAL! I mean, all it took was some of Cecilia's 'my-parents-are-filthy-rich' crap and Kairi had turned to the Darkside - which is a bit ironic since she's s'posed to be a Princess of Light, right?! Ugh, this is just like Riku!"

Juliet's shouts echoed through the Hall of Empty Melodies as she swung her flag and destroyed barrel after barrel. The long, sleek pole didn't do much damage to the wooden structures, but it sure made the girl feel better to listen to the satisfying thwack it made when it connected with the barrels. Over all, the effect was rather empowering, and it brought a somewhat sadistic smirk to her lips.

Since Juliet had been in the color guard prior to being expelled, she knew a thing or two about throwing her make-shift mêlée weapon around, even if it didn't put much hurt on her targets. She could only hope that when she discovered what her true strength was, she'd get a kick-butt weapon to accompany it. After all, not many people cowered at the sight of a shimmery silk the color of a freshly-bloomed violet.

Larxene nodded encouragingly at her remark, for Juliet had already ranted to her about the incident in Traverse Town, spewing curses like metaphorical word vomit. Though the blonde faked like she was paying attention, she was already planning the party Juliet had accidentally scheduled.

"Purple and silver, or silver and ruby?" Larxene wondered aloud, licking the end of one of her kunai idly. The action appeared almost subconscious, and Juliet had to wonder how Axel had worked up the nerve to voluntarily put himself at risk of death by making himself the confirmed boyfriend of such a clearly insane woman. But, Axel was crazy like that.

"Wha—what? Larxene! Are you even listening?" The tired brunette temporarily halted her assault on the harmless barrels to stare at her friend incredulously, wet bangs limply hanging in her eyes.

"Yes, but I was thinking of a color scheme for your party. Silver and violet, or silver and ruby?"

With a frustrated grunt, Juliet raised her flag and slammed it with all her might onto the top of a barrel, leaning back afterwards to admire her work as the abused wood shivered before it gave way and imploded. She turned to Larxene and sighed.

"Silver and ruby. If we do silver and violet, that will only compliment Cecilia's eyes. But red looks pretty good on me, so I guess if I had to choose — wait! Larxene, there's _no way_ in Darkness that Xemnas is gonna okay this thing. 'Sides, I kind of value my life; I understand if that's a concept you don't grasp, but most sane people do."

Lolling her head sideways to give the young girl a haughty look, the apathetic princess ignored Juliet's jab and scoffed, "You underestimate my powers of persuasion, Curly-fry."

Tugging at a curl in defiance, Juliet snapped, "Don't call me that! And seriously, this is the dumbest thing you've done yet. Like, dumber than trying to overthrow the Organization at Castle Oblivion."

Larxene sneered at her, but continued on with her list. "Don't be such a wimp! Do you want to show this Cecilia up, or don't you?"

Well, Juliet never had been one to run from a challenge.

* * *

You told her WHAT?!" the Superior's voice boomed through the Room Where Nothing Gathers, reaching an all-time high in pitch.

Taking this fine moment to shrink back into her seat, Juliet swiveled her head around to shoot daggers at Larxene, her blood burning at the sly smirk on the blonde's face as she waved her fingers from across the room. Somehow, she got the feeling Larxene had this all planned.

Stupid, sadistic Savage Nymph.

Having just told numero uno in the Organization that she'd tried to top Cecilia and ended up with an intended party in the mix, Juliet was beginning to feel the pressure. Sure, she'd reduced Marluxia to a French maid and Luxord to a british butler, but were things _that _bad?

Xemnas just seemed peeved that Juliet had apparently entrusted the transportation-device (as he called what she called the Dragonmobile) to herself.

When the boredom had finally set in and all of the members were trying to use their minds to make her brains melt and ooze out her nostrils, Juliet settled into her chair with the intent to sleep. That seemed to anger everyone that much more, seeing as how they were being subjected to listen to what was supposed to be _her_ lecture on honesty and responsibility.

Huh, and that coming from Xemnas?

Really?

With a heavy sigh, Saїx spoke up and stated, "Superior, if you will. You've always taught the youngest of the Organization to defend their honor, and Juliet was doing just that."

Xemnas stuck his bottom lip out, and Juliet nearly choked on her spit. Was he _pouting?!_

"No. That does not count."

Saїx only nodded, his eyes drifting to Juliet's for a half beat as if to apologize and explain that he had done what he could. She shrugged in answer, giving him a half smile. Heck, it was her own fault, and she really didn't need the others sticking up for her.

From somewhere to her right, the cocky voice of Axel intervened, "Xemnas, come on. Let the kid live a little. She _could_ be out there smoking and partying."

Face-palm. Way to go Axel, a party was what they were trying to _get out_ of the deal!

Even though disapproval colored his voice, the Luna Diviner ventured, "Sir, I'll supervise the party if I must."

_Whoa... Wait, **WHAT?**_

Like a fish, Juliet gaped, her breath whooshing out of her lungs. With wide brown eyes, she sneered at the blue-haired second in command, drawing her hand across her neck sideways in a cut-throat motion. His gaze moved to the side of his eyes as he watched her in his peripheral, and she bared her teeth like a bullydog.

Her mind practically screamed, _'Mayday, mayday! Mission abort!'_

The last time Saїx had hosted a party, it ended up in flames, literally, thanks to Axel's "indoor fireworks display." As much as not throwing the party would ruin Juliet, throwing one of Saїx's would be _much_ more devastating to her reputation. That was like —like Sora wearing those short, too tight pants during the whole first part of the second Kingdom Hearts game.

It simply could not be done.

Xemnas straightened up. "Continue."

_**WHAT?!** _

Juliet watched in horror as her life began to crumble away. Was he actually considering this? Not one of _Saїx's_ parties!

The Luna Diviner searched Juliet's shocked and angry face before he returned his gaze to Xemnas. "No boys are to be permitted on the premises, save for the Organization members."

Juliet shrieked in objection, while a gradual smirk played out on the thin lips of the Superior. Sitting there, slouching down in his high-chair (as Juliet referred to it) as he began to rest his elbow upon the edge, the man seemed to contemplate the idea. At length, he nodded.

"Continue."

This… this was a disaster in the making! It was like Juliet was watching her life in a theatre, the large screen playing the events that surely led to the protagonist's downfall. Here it came, the awful end! The resolution to the conflict, only the hero doesn't survive to the credits!

Straightening his posture, the second-in-command flashed the brunette an almost apologetic look — or as apologetic as a Saїx could be — before assuring, "There shall be no "junk foods" consumed. A salad bar will be brought in for eating pleasure. All TV channels will be restricted, aside from Disney Channel, of course. We are still in contract with that company, you know. Any music will be thoroughly assessed prior to its appearance on the playlist… Oh, and certainly NO AXEL!"

Was he joking? What kind of party lacked pizza and finger foods and punch and all that stuffy-stuff? And decent music? Sorry, Luna Diviner, but "_Moonlight Sonata_" in the key of F is not exactly jump up and dance music!

And if Axel was considered prohibited, where would the fun come into play?

The Superior sat back, clearly satisfied, and Juliet looked as if she might fall off her seat. Repeatedly, she jerked her head from Saїx to the Superior and back again, her eyes clearly begging them to reconsider.

With a nod, Xemnas declared, "Then it is settled. We shall have a nondescript party."

That was it, Juliet took a long fall off of a tall seat.

Unfortunately for her, Saїx portaled down and caught her at the last moment, his yellow eyes slanted in retribution. She scowled at him, barely containing the urge to hiss. The harder she glared, the more intense his gaze became. _The hall_, he mouthed.

"I hate you, Saїx," Juliet muttered under her breath, ignoring the very obvious eyeroll he aimed at her. Fine, she'd give him his chance to explain, but she was going to give him hell the entire time.

When Juliet and the rest of her group reached the Grey Area, they shooed Xigbar off.

"Okay, listen up!" Saix roared while handing everyone a list, his movements quick and determined, a man on a mission. It was made up of... party necessities?

"Jules, call every boy you know. Marluxia, Larxene has an old French maid's costume from last Halloween. Luxord, I have an old suit that might fit you tucked away for undercover missions. Axel, how many fireworks can you get on a short notice? That was a needless question. Just get them. And Larxene, how many restaurants cater to this world? We require cakes for the festivities."

Six pairs of eyes blinked.

"What the hell happened to you?" Axel asked finally.

* * *

**I hope you liked it! Please leave a review if you did! ^-^**


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